News

Court Orders INEC To Recognise Olawepo-Hashim As Accord Presidential Candidate

Published October 5, 2026 at 1:28 PM

Key Takeaways

Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed Dr Gbenga Oluwepo-Hashim as Accord Party’s 2027 presidential candidate and ordered INEC to recognise him.
The court ruled that Oluwepo-Hashim was lawfully nominated at the Accord presidential primary held on May 30, 2026, and rejected claims it was cancelled.
The judgment ended months of dispute over the party ticket, as the court dismissed preliminary objections and directed Accord to submit Hashim’s name to INEC.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Dr Gbenga Oluwepo-Hashim as the presidential candidate of the Accord Party for the 2027 general election.

Naija News reports that Justice Mohammed Umar, in his judgement ordered the party to submit Oluwepo-Hashim’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and directed the electoral body to recognise him as the party’s candidate.

The court held that Oluwepo-Hashim was lawfully nominated following the Accord Party presidential primary held on May 30, 2026.

Justice Umar also dismissed preliminary objections to the suit and rejected the party’s claim that the presidential primary had been cancelled.

Recall that Hashim had approached the court seeking an order recognising him as the duly nominated presidential candidate of the Accord Party, maintaining that he was the sole aspirant and winner of the May 30 primary.

Counsel to Hashim, Henry Akunebu (SAN) urged the court to compel the party to recognise Hashim and forward his name to INEC.

Akunebu challenged the validity and evidential value of documents relied upon to dispute Hashim’s emergence, particularly a purported letter notifying INEC that the presidential primary had been cancelled.

Counsel to the Accord Party, T.W. Olusesi, maintained that the presidential primary had been cancelled and that no valid primary was conducted to produce Hashim as the party’s candidate.

INEC’s counsel, D.J. Gusen, similarly argued that the commission did not monitor the purported primary because it had received notification that the exercise had been cancelled.

Justice Umar, however, dismissed the preliminary objections and rejected the purported cancellation letter, clearing the way for the court to recognise the outcome of the May 30 primary.

The judgment followed months of legal dispute over the Accord Party’s presidential ticket and the party’s failure to submit Hashim’s name to INEC despite his claim that he had emerged as the winner of the primary.